lurerookie

I have tried a number of different things (latex putty etc.)to fill small imperfections around belly-weights etc and am still not happy with the results when I try to sand them smoothe. It still shows through the paint. I have read that a few of you have used things like Bondo etc. and was interested in any other wisdom on the subject. Am I better off just putting a base coat of epoxy below my paint to get the surface smoothe and then another coat on top?

First off, I think that it is an interesting discussion and that a couple of things should be noted in this particular case. The first is that Blackjack's schematic is a representation that he made and noted that it is not thru-wire as is the original. So is the schematic a representation of his bait donated to TU? The second point is that in any industry building a better mousetrap is always problematic when you are not able to "protect" that idea from duplication as it seems is the case with lurebuilding. It doesn't make it any more ethically sound however and I understand where you are coming from. I was mostly drawn in by reading posts by many of the "tenured" builders here that discussed making a better bait through experimentation and care vs. what can be purchased in most cases. For me personally (I'm recreational only), if somebody copied my design of mine I would be flattered, but I don't think I will see that happening any time soon. Good discussion topic and sorry for rambling, but a 9th consecutive game of go fish awaits in the next room and I am procrastinating.

I tried dipping with it and it was really thick. Would be interested in hearing if anybody has tried thinning first.

BobP is right on that one. I copied part of that thread to print out and take to the shop and used it make some of my first baits. There was some conversation about weighting and as I recall that suggestions went up to 1/8 or so, but that sounds pretty hefty to me. I put in about 2/3 of that and they work pretty well. Here is the text that I saved in a reference file from Blackjack's tutorial as well as the picture/schematic. All credit to him for the great tutorial. Since everyone seems to want this pattern I'll post it here!! The original bait is a thru wire bait, but I have modified it as to make it a no brainer. You can resize to whatever size you would like the different color lines are for: Blue line= angle of the lip slot first red line = the depth of the lip slot cut second red line = the location of the bellyweight the green lines = are used to drill the line tie and the rear hook hanger the green lines are perpindiculars (right angles so that when you place the bait in a vise to drill the line tie and rear hook hanger are placed perfectly

In the new Stamina catalog they have a chart that recommends which sizes to use with each of their hardbaits. You could probably find something pretty close to what you have in there. I would guess that the chart is online as well.

I was thinking about purchasing some bodies already roughed out from Jann's, but was thinking that I might run into problems with weighting etc. I have only done flatsides and basically everything I have read on this site has told me that I should drill and cut the lip slot on them before shaping. Most of the ones I have seen on Jann's and other sites have a more rounded body, which is what I would like to try, but I am wondering if I will have trouble getting them drilled and cut correctly. Thoughts?

Thanks for the advice. I may be sticking with the slower method for a bit longer since I don't really have to worry about large numbers. I do have a Dremel Router table that I picked up at a Sears closeout special pretty cheap. I use it to hold the drum sander roughly perpendicular so I can square things off when I don't get a good initially. You can set the bit to be pretty far recessed. I'm wondering if it would be worth a try if I slow the speed of the Dremel way down. I have an XPR and it seems like there is a pretty wide range of speeds. I would be interested to hear if there is an early line on whether my next post is with all digits.

I noticed in Tally's "addiction" post that all of the lures were very uniform. Almost like the edges were run through a router and then sanded. Being pretty new to this and only using cedar thus far I have been rounding the edges of my baits with a Dremmel and each seems to take on its own subtle personality...never seem to have three that are exactly the same. So my question is do any of you rough out your baits with your band/scroll saw and then uniformly round off the edges with a router before going at them with the sand paper and Dremmel?

I found some a couple of months ago at BPS that look very much like the ones on Lucky Craft lures, but I haven't seen them in the catalog. Not sure if they are available online or not. Similar to the ones at Orvis and othe fly shops, but less expensive.

The 2007 Stamina catalog has 2 sizes listed. They say they are medium and large. I don't know if they will work or not.

I have used Devcon 5 min. and it works well.

I have been using SS screw eyes purchased from Jann's of various size to fit the particular lure. I fit them in a pilot hole filled with Devcon 5 min. The lures are finished with 2 ton that I am sure to let ride up a bit onto the hanger/tie. I have noticed that many on the site make their own out of SS wire. I fish freshwater and toothy critters are seldom found on my line, bass seldom more than 5 lbs. Is there any reason that I would need to go the route of making my own at this point? The cost isn't much of an issue because of the small volume I am making and I am really trying to limit valiability in my creations as much as possible, which is one of the reasons I went with the screws. Thanks

I posted a couple of pictures in the gallery because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to post in the forum. I recall some older posts about it taking up too much room. Anyway, they are my first attempt so they may serve to produce Christmas cheer among the more talented in the forum. I can't wait for the Indiana spring to come so that I can try them out. Also, I haven't been able to access the article that Dean posted, but if it isn't mentioned it should be the willingness of the experts in TU to share their secrets, even if sometimes cryptic (I think Skeeter called me grasshopper once). Thanks again for the help.

I did a quick search on posting pictures and the rules of the site say that the max size for a jpeg is 19k. I resized mine as small as I could and found that I could only get them to ~30k. Prior to the outage of the site, I noticed that many of you used Putfile or other picture post. Any recommendations on sites or other ways to post a picture? I would like to post some pictures at my first attempts to spread some Christmas humor.